Born To Those Who Have Thrice Defied Him
by maraudersmaps
Summary: Three-chapter story detailing the three times James and Lily defied Lord Voldemort.


"_You filthy mudblood!_" a voice shrieked, the tone dripping with pure hatred.

James Potter twisted around.

"What the _hell _did you just call my wife?" He snarled, but the Death Eater was a crumpled mess on the pavement before he could offer a reply.

"James, you can't get worked up every time they say that-"

"I can, and I will! They're the lowest scumbags I've ever seen in my life, Lily." The disgust was evident in every feature of his face. "You're absolutely perfect. The only reason they call you … you know, is because they can't find anything else wrong with you!"

Lily allowed herself a small laugh as the couple bolted down a street.

More Death Eaters appeared from behind street corners, flinging curses at the pair, possibly hoping that they'd retained the element of surprise; but the Order members were far too experienced to be dazed by this new onslaught. Like they'd drop their defences, even for a moment!

Lily and James dove into the heart of the new battle, dodging and whirling through their adversaries' curses with a mixture of talent and luck. Lily was glad she was wearing light Muggle clothes instead of robes, which only ever weighed her down or made her trip. She couldn't see James through her concentration on taking out as many Death Eaters as she could, but she could sense his presence and feel his limbs slicing through the air.

The battle seemed to last forever.

Death Eaters fell to the ground one by one; James and Lily, now back to back, were panting heavily, sweat soaking their shirts. In the frenzy of hooded cloaks and multicoloured spells, Lily felt slightly disoriented when she couldn't feel her husband's smooth back behind her, feel his muscles as his body moved, feel the warm heat from the blood rushing through his veins - James was so very _alive_.

The battle had reached its pinnacle when a sharp, clear voice seemed to hiss through Lily's head.

_Stop fighting_.

Lily yelped in surprise, and felt James tense, knowing he could hear the voice in his own head, too.

_Who the hell is that and why are they in my head?_

"Lily?"

James' voice betrayed a note of panic.

"I'm here, James. I'm fine." She kept her own tone steady, knowing that whoever was watching them would feast on any insecurity they revealed.

The Death Eaters had stopped firing spells at them. James' eyes flickered over each of them, not needing to unmask them to know that they had hungry smiles on their faces.

"We have to get out of here." He said quietly.

_Stop fighting, and join my ranks. We could use talent like yours._

Lily's blood turned cold as she realised who the chilling voice belonged to.

James had snapped into motion, grabbing her hand.

"Lily, we have to leave, it's him-"

_Do not try to escape me. We all know it is futile._

"James Potter. Lily… Potter."

The same voice was now being spoken out loud - the Potters turned and saw a tall, cloaked man standing a few metres behind them. How he got there, neither of them knew - this was an Anti-Apparition zone maintained by the Order. How strong, how magically able could this man possibly be?

Lord Voldemort was smiling.

"James Potter. I have heard of your exceptional talent, and you have not disappointed me. Tell me, have you never longed for power?"

"Stay away from me." James spat, his grip on Lily's hand tightening. "I'll_never _join you."

"Oh, but James, do not be so foolish. I can see your heart. I can see your deepest desires… You long for control, do you not? To be respected as you walk down the street… Well, of course, you are already are."

Lies. All lies, and Lily knew it. She glanced at her husband for a split second, who was glaring at Voldemort with blatant disgust.

"I'm not anything like you, _Voldemort_." James said the name without fear, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses, his body still incredibly tense. "I'd rather die than stoop so low."

Voldemort's smile fell slightly. His blood red eyes flickered onto the green ones of Lily Potter. The smirk vanished.

"Lily… Potter. It is awfully strange to speak of a mudblood with a name so… _pure_." His words were quiet, almost whispered, yet Lily could hear it as clearly as if he was shouting at her.

James jerked; Lily subdued him with a clench of her fingers.

_Don't, James, please_…

"However," continued Voldemort. "I must admit, you have also shown considerable talent. You would make a fine Death Eater, once the blood issue was resolved…"

Lily's voice sounded stronger than she thought it would.

"Maybe I would. Unfortunately for you, I'll never become one."

Voldemort's eyes had narrowed to thin slits that matched his nostrils.

"I see. You two will be hard to break." He said slowly, fingering his wand and stepping forward. Lily and James cautiously stepped backwards, the latter shifting his body slightly in front of his Muggle-born wife's, his wand pointed down at the ground.

"Mr. Potter, are you sure you would not like to reconsider?" Voldemort hissed dangerously. "Imagine the reputation you would have… the sheer_power_… I would make it far worth your while."

James shook his head resolutely, his eyes fixed on Voldemort's face as Lily eyed the remaining Death Eaters around them, her wand arm raised in a faux casual manner, ready to be used at any sudden moment.

"I would not like to resort to torture, Potter." Voldemort continued, his tone light yet fatal. The crimson eyes gleamed. "I would especially like not to damage anyone with such a pure bloodline… a Muggleborn, on the other hand…"

"Don't you _dare _touch her." James responded quickly, continuing to back away, his hand clenching impossibly tighter around Lily's. Voldemort stopped walking, but the Order members did not; they continued to edge towards the street corner, knowing of a place where they could Apparate to safety.

James' wand inched higher; Voldemort hissed.

"Do not make this worse than it needs to be, Potter! Join me! Join me, and we shall work together to create a brand new life for the ones we love. I'm sure Lily would agree."

"Never!" Lily protested, her voice shrill. Each muscle in her body was tensed to breaking point as she surveyed the Death Eaters, who were strangely still in the presence of their master.

"In that case." Voldemort's expression hardened, his skull-white face seeming eerie in the sunlight. "I will have to, regrettably, dispose of you."

They were at the end of the deserted street; and then everything happened in a matter of moments.

James' hands pushed Lily around the corner.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" said Voldemort, his voice a sharp snap.

Death Eaters started to swarm around the spot where they had been standing.

"_James!_"

The messy-haired wizard had dodged the jet of green light, firing back his own spells; the Death Eaters split and a handful roared towards Lily, their eyes glinting menacingly behind their masks.

Lily forced herself into battle-mode, managing to blast a majority of the masked men before diving past the rest towards her husband.

"_Crucio! Avada Kedavra! Crucio!_"

In a huge uproar, the Death Eaters hooted with delight - they backed off slightly, sparks flying tauntingly from their wands, and Lily could see the figure of James Potter fall to his knees…

_No._

_NO._

He could _not _be dead.

She would _not_ allow it.

Her heart pulsing in her throat, she saw her husband trembling on the ground - he was _alive -_ his muscles being forced into spasms.

James was biting his lip, beads of sweat dripping onto the floor as he endured the agony of a Cruciatus curse. It ripped Lily's heart in two, and she could tell from the way his face was contorted that he was wishing that she'd got out of there in time.

How stupid he was. How very, very stupid he _always _was in these situations. She would _never _leave him. _Never_.

Voldemort was smiling wickedly; James was keeping a dignified silence against the unimaginable torture; Lily didn't know that she had cast a spell until her wand arm had raised itself of its own accord, her mouth had spoken words on autopilot:

"_ACCIO JAMES POTTER!_"

Would it work? Surprisingly, Lily had never heard of a Summoning Charm being performed on a human. Was it even possible? Was she just being a stupid, pathetic little girl using little schoolgirl spells? In the split second after she'd uttered the words, Lily was begging any supernatural power to bring the love of her life to her side, tears threatening to spill over her eyelids.

Her husband's body smashed into her.

With a gasp of relief and shock at her own prowess, Lily Potter grabbed James' wrist and began to run, pulling him with her.

"I know you're hurting but we _have to leave!_" She shot James an apologetic look as he winced, hardly able to drag himself across the pavement. The Death Eaters were behind them, yelling and roaring in protest as their prey slipped through their fingers. Lily cast several curses behind her, hearing satisfying _thumps _and explosions as her spells either hit a Death Eater or smashed into a building. Either way, it would slow them down.

Each nerve seared as she dodged jets of light. James had managed to force his limbs to run at a normal rate, his teeth gritted in effort. A curse hit Lily in the arm; something burned. She screamed.

"Lily?" James' head had snapped up, his body rebooted back into its normal state. He held her steady as she wobbled, her legs buckling as they ran.

Lily shook off the pain spreading towards her torso.

"I'm fine! Just _run! Run, James!_"

And, by some sort of miracle, they were turning into the secret alleyway where they could Apparate out of this hell, the Death Eaters were far behind them, still shooting hopeless curses -

_NO!_

Voldemort's cold voice screamed inside Lily and James' heads as they began to twist on the spot; just before they disappeared into oblivion, Voldemort whirled into existence from a cloud of wispy black smoke…

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!"

Too late.

James and Lily Potter had vanished.

And that was the first time they defied Lord Voldemort.


End file.
